You all have filthy minds. Maybe that’s why you keep coming back. Oh well, no never mind. I spent the weekend erecting a portable garage. When we were looking for a new home here, we decided we wanted a bigger bedroom, a garage, or at least covered parking, and some other stuff. The house we fell in love with and ultimately bought has none of the things we said we wanted. So, as a compromise we went searching online and found a company that produced portable garages. For those of you not familiar with winter in Rossland let me make it simple. People here install gates on their decks, not to get on and off the deck but to shovel the snow off the deck. These decks are usually on the second floor, an average of about 10’ off the ground and you can routinely step off the deck on to the snowbank mid season. Needless to say, some sort of covered parking was in order.

The company we found is called Cover-Tech and is based out of New Brunswick on the East Coast of Canada. They claim their garages are built to withstand the Canadian winter, and it came in a variety of colors including Dark Green. I was sold, built tough and less obnoxious than the white variety that seem to be everywhere lately. when you order, it takes 4-5 weeks for deliver because it is custom made to the specs that you choose. So I had our Realtor measure up the driveway and chose the specs based on that, the only one I was unsure of was the height. It is available with either a 7’ door or a 9’ door. I was thinking, well if we want to use our roof-box in the winter for all of the snowboards and such, i should get the 9’ door, just to be safe.

It finally arrived last week and we waited till the weekend to attempt to set it up. “Easy to set up” it claimed. Well, I suppose, compared to what,? A Nuclear Missile Silo? (It’s almost as big as one). Note: 9’door, means the door opening is 9’. I negelcted to factor in the curved roof that goes higher than that. I used to call the mini-van “The Green Monster”, I think the garage will now assume that name. Now, in my other part-time life I do freelance graphic design, and part of my job is helping my clients create effective and clear communications. The Instruction manual that was provided with this structure was not so well presented and added to my confusion in the erection process. (Cover-Tech, drop me a line if you would like some help with that!)

It took me the better part of two days to erect this beast. I actually had to go and buy a new ladder to reach the top sections. It took three of us over an hour to get the cover on, by the way the boys at Cover-Tech should get an award for the folding job on the cover, considering the size of the bag it arrived in, that was damn impressive! Now that it is up however, I have to say I am very pleased and would recommend this to anyone who wants a bomb-proof portable structure. That cover fits on there as tight as a drum and that thing is solid! The fabric is top notch and the bones, once you get them together are going to stand for a long-time. I don’t think i’ll be taking this down until I build the two-storey Garage/Studio I’ve been dreaming of, and at that point I’ll probably re-sell it. Hopefully before I sell it I’ll be able to afford a vehicle that is a little more worthy of such a great erection.

BBD

Tags: Great Erection, Canadian Quality, Winter, Green Monster

In order to accomplish this, good shovels are key. You need a couple of different kinds, one for pushing the snow that is in reasonable proximity to the site, one for carrying good amounts from farther distances, and one for doing the detailed shaping later on in the process. You also need lots of snow, if you think you have enough, you don't. We made two piles that were up to my waist and once they were packed in, ended up being less than two feet tall. A lot of it is used up supporting the flat deck on top, and the transitions on the front. Making sure you have enough to cover the flat bottom is also key.

In Alberta you have to work quick, the temperatures that give you this kind of snow are elusive and short-lived. We had a 30º+ swing and by the next afternoon it was but a memory. So build it, session it, and get photographic proof. We've done this twice this winter, check the video.

So, when it's still snowing in April, in Alberta, that's how you make lemonade. That's how we....slide.

Tags: Winter, April, Snow Day, Lemonade

I don't mind doing laundry, I really don't. I find folding laundry oddly satisfying, somewhat meditative. I think part of it is the closure. It's something I can start, and finish. Which is a rare thing with a couple of short things running around. It's also something I can do without thinking about it, which allows me time to think about other things, while looking busy and focused enough to fool them into doing things for themselves once in a while. It's not unlike dishwashing (which I also do a lot of), but dishwashing has the added bonus of wet hands.

I want to pose a question. What is it with 5 year olds not being able to take off their clothes without leaving every single item INSIDE OUT? I don't believe they do it on purpose, but then wouldn't Murphy's law permit that once in a while something would remain right side out? Also, now that I do virtually all of the laundry, I can say this out loud. Ladies please, what's with the used tissues in the pockets??? I understand you get runny noses but, why keep the evidence? More incredibly, how do the tissues still manage to make it into the wash and then all over everything in the dryer, when you have NO POCKETS in your clothes!?? I've been doing this for a while and I now know to check the pockets, but when the pants have no pockets, where are you hiding the tissues? Could someone shed some light on these mysteries?

Tags: Winter, Laundry, Kids

I like winter, or at least I did at one point. I used to live for it, but that was when I was working at a ski hill and riding my snowboard six days a week. A foot of fresh snow was like Christmas!, getting hit in the face with snow all day long was actually enjoyable, desirable! enviable! a sought after experience! Now I drive a minivan. Fish-nosing a minivan is just not cool. (It's fish-nosing as opposed to fish-tailing because most minivans are front wheel drive.) All Season Tires? I think not. One of the exits from our neighbourhood on to a main road is a sloping, downhill, off-camber, right turn that also serves as the right hand feeder lane for the upcoming intersection. (Just to clarify, off-camber means it slopes toward the outside if the corner, away from the direction you are turning.) The slightest bit of hestiation or over-braking, well actually braking of any kind really, will send you sideways and either lodge you directly across the width of the on-ramp, or out into the traffic that are veering into your lane, ignoring the definition of "merge" in a coffee fueled road-to-work rally, because you know, "they have 4-wheel drive, so it's ok". This turn claims it's fair share of victims every year, but when it's still snowing in the last week of April, well let's just say there is no fear of missing the performance bonus this year.

Tags: Winter